According to the data released in 2012, Ben Cardin was ranked the tenth most liberal senator during 2011.<ref>[http://www.nationaljournal.com/voteratings2011/searchable-vote-ratings-tables-house-20120223 ''National Journal,'' "Searchable Vote Ratings Tables: House," February 23, 2012]</ref>

According to the data released in 2012, Ben Cardin was ranked the tenth most liberal senator during 2011.<ref>[http://www.nationaljournal.com/voteratings2011/searchable-vote-ratings-tables-house-20120223 ''National Journal,'' "Searchable Vote Ratings Tables: House," February 23, 2012]</ref>

Based on analysis of multiple outside rankings, Cardin is one of the most reliable Democratic votes, meaning she can be considered a safe vote for the Democratic Party in Congress.

Biography

Cardin was born in 1943 in Baltimore, Maryland, where he also attended high school. After graduating from Baltimore City College in 1961, he went on to earn his B.A. at the University of Pittsburgh in 1964 and his J.D. at the University of Maryland in 1967. Cardin has also worked as a lawyer.[1]

Issues

American response in Syria

Cardin, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told John Kerry and Gen. Martin Dempsey that he supports the president’s objectives in Syria, but believes the military response should be limited.[7] Cardin also asked Kerry about other countries that would join the United States in this military action.

"We understand that America would be in the lead, but it does not seem like we have a growing list of countries that are joining us in the military operation," Cardin said during a hearing on September 3, 2013.[7]

Russian proposal

Cardin said September 9, 2013, that the Russian proposal to put Syria’s chemical weapons under international control would be the “best possible outcome” of the debate over the use of the weapons by Syrian President Bashar Assad.[8]

When asked by MSNBC host Ed Schultz if he was skeptical of the Russian offer Cardin answered, “Absolutely, but I would like to pursue it because I think if we can achieve international control of the chemical weapons, that’s the best possible outcome right now of the weapons that are in, the chemical weapons that are in Syria.”[8]

“I think we should always be prepared and understand the vulnerability of an open society and we always have to be on our toes,” Cardin said. “But I think President Assad has lost his legitimacy in the way he has governed in Syria. And that’s not just a United States senator saying that. The international community is saying it, the leaders in that region are saying it. So it’s time for change in Syria. Right now, our objective is to deal with the use of chemical weapons.”[8]

Senate Judiciary Committee

Senator Cardin is a former member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. He was appointed to the Senate Judiciary Committee shortly after he was first sworn into the Senate in 2007.[9] When Cardin was in the US House, he served in the House Judiciary Committee. While on the committee, Cardin served as one of the managers for the impeachment proceedings of former federal judge Walter Nixon in 1989.[10]

Ricci v. DeStefano witness panel

Senator Cardin presided in the witness panel during Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation hearing to the Supreme Court of the United States in 2009 over the Ricci v. DeStefano case. New Haven, Connecticut firefighters Frank Ricci and Lieutenant Ben Vargas who were a couple of the plaintiffs in the case were invited to testify as witnesses for the Republicans on the committee.[11]

When the case was discussed during the discussion panel, both Vargas and Ricci testified with Wade Henderson from The Leadership Council on Civil Rights and Arkansas Attorney GeneralDustin McDaniel who were witnesses for the Democrat members on the committee.[11]

During the witness panel, Attorney General McDaniel defended the ruling the Second Circuit issued in Ricci v. DeStefano. Judge Sotomayor was one of three judges who heard oral arguments in the case. McDaniel defended the three sentence summary order the Second Circuit issued claiming that the appeals court was consistent in its ruling citing 28 years of previous rulings in similar cases involving discrimination on civil service examinations. Also, McDaniel said that the ruling was in line with the doctrine of stare decisis.[12] McDaniel was one of five state Attorneys general to file an Amicus brief in support of the Second Circuit ruling when the U.S. Supreme Court granted certorati.[12]

However, both Lt. Vargas and Ricci countered with McDaniel's testimony and said that the case took a personal and emotional toll on themselves and their families. Ricci who suffers from dyslexia gave up a second job to study thirteen hours a day on a promotion test in the New Haven Fire Department. Ricci said to the committee that he was an "absentee father" sacrificing time from his kids and wife to secure the promotion.[13]

Lt. Vargas is Puertan Rican and said that the case focused too much on race and too little on who was qualified to be promoted to the New Haven Fire Department. Vargas said to Senator Cardin after the Second Circuit issued its ruling "that I was penalized for my hard work" as his reaction to the ruling.[13]

Fiscal Cliff

Cardin voted for the fiscal cliff compromise bill, which made permanent most of the Bush tax cuts originally passed in 2001 and 2003 while also raising tax rates on the highest income levels. The bill was passed in the Senate by a 89 - 8 vote on January 1, 2013.[18]

Full history

To view the full congressional electoral history for Ben Cardin, click [show] to expand the section.

2006

On November 7, 2006, Benjamin Cardin won election to the United States Senate. He defeated Michael S. Steele (R), Kevin Zeese (Green) and Lih Young (Write-in, D) in the general election.[20]

U.S. Senate, Maryland General Election, 2006

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democratic

Benjamin Cardin

54.2%

965,477

Republican

Michael S. Steele

44.2%

787,182

Green

Kevin Zeese

1.5%

27,564

Write-in Democratic

Lih Young

0%

120

N/A

Write-in

0%

796

Total Votes

1,781,139

2006

On November 7, 2006, Cardin won election to the United States Senate. He defeated Michael S. Steele (R), Kevin Zeese (G), and Lih Young (D, Write-In) in the general election.[21]

U.S. Senate General Election, Maryland, 2008

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democratic

Ben Cardin

54.2%

965,477

Republican

Michael S. Steele

44.2%

787,182

Green

Kevin Zeese

1.5%

27,564

Democratic, Write-In

Lih Young

0%

120

Independent

Write-In

0%

796

Total Votes

1,781,139

Campaign donors

Comprehensive donor information for Ben Cardin is available dating back to 2000. Based on available campaign finance records, Ben Cardin raised a total of $18,157,133 during that time period. This information was last updated on April 24, 2013.[22]

Lifetime voting record

According to the website GovTrack, Cardin missed 6 of 1,935 roll call votes from Jan 2007 to Apr 2013, which is 0.3% of votes during that period. This is better than the median of 1.7% among the lifetime records of senators currently serving.[31]

Like-minded colleagues

The website OpenCongress tracks the voting records of each member to determine with whom he or she votes most and least often. The results include a member from each party.[32]

Congressional staff salaries

The website Legistorm compiles staff salary information for members of Congress. Cardin paid his congressional staff a total of $2,838,620 in 2011. He ranked 15th on the list of the highest paid Democratic senatorial staff salaries and ranked 19th overall of the highest paid senatorial staff salaries in 2011. Overall, Maryland ranked 33rd in average salary for senatorial staff. The average U.S. Senate congressional staff was paid $2,529,141.70 in fiscal year 2011.[33]

Net worth

2011

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org, Cardin's net worth as of 2011 was estimated between $1,416,074 and $3,998,000. This averages to $2,707,037, which is a 22.16% decrease since 2010. This is lower than the average net worth of Democratic senators in 2011 of $20,795,450.[34]

2010

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org, Cardin's net worth as of 2010 was estimated between $1,900,080 and $5,055,000. That averages to $3,477,540, which is lower than the average net worth of Democratic senators in 2010 of $19,383,524.[35]

National Journal vote ratings

Each year, National Journal publishes an analysis of how liberally or conservatively each member of Congress voted, as compared to other members, in the previous year. More information about the analysis process can be found on the vote ratings page.

2012

According to the data released in 2013, Cardin was ranked the 10th most liberal senator during 2012.[36]

2011

According to the data released in 2012, Ben Cardin was ranked the tenth most liberal senator during 2011.[37]

Voting with party

March 2012

Ben Cardin voted with the Democratic Party 96% of the time, which ranked 5 among the 51 Senate Democratic members as of March 2012.[38]

Recent news

This section displays the most recent stories in a Google news search for the term Ben + Cardin + Maryland + Senate

All stories may not be relevant to this page due to the nature of the search engine.

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Personal

Cardin has been married to his wife Myrna (nee Edelman) since 1964. They have a daughter and two grandchildren.[39]